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Topic: aviation

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

From the collection of the Virginia Aviation Museum (a division of the Science Museum of Virginia) are two World War II era morale boosters for troops. These booklets provided entertainment for those serving overseas during the war. The “Army Song Book” was published in 1941 by the...

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

A recent acquisition into the collection of the Virginia Aviation Museum is this 1944 Eastern Airlines timetable which contains flight times and prices.
At the time of this publication, one way travel from Richmond cost at most $85.25 for a trip to Brownsville, Texas and the cheapest flight was...

Friday, February 4, 2011

So you've probably seen the big black plane outside of the Virginia Aviation Museum when you're on your way to the airport. But what exactly is it?
This plane is the SR-71 Blackbird and was manufactured by Lockheed under the direction of the CIA. After World War II, the United States...

Friday, January 28, 2011

Pilot Wings
Pilot wings were described by the War Department as “The shield of the United States of America without stars in the shield at the center of the wings”.
Senior Pilot Wings
The Senior Pilot wings look the same as the Pilot wings but with...

Friday, January 21, 2011

Recently I discovered a scrapbook at the Virginia Aviation Museum. Glued inside a bound ledger of the “Southern Fire Insurance Company, Inc. of Lynchburg, VA”, were newspaper clippings spanning from the early 1920s to the late 1930s describing various advancements and events in the...

Thursday, December 2, 2010

In sixth grade my teacher gave us a scenario. We were stuck in the desert and could only have one item for rescue- what would we use? He gave us a list, from which I believe I picked a broken radio (I was optimistic-maybe I could fix it?). But the right answer was a mirror. A mirror could be used...

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Check out these cool & colorful World War II era postcards that are in the collection of the Virginia Aviation Museum. Postcards such as these were often sold at the various camps around the world to servicemen to send back to their loved one and friends.
Some cards (like the last...

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Today artifacts from Admiral Richard E. Byrd’s ship, The City of New York, go on auction in Dallas, Texas. A native Virginian, Admiral Byrd used the ship in his expedition to the Antarctic in 1928. The purpose of this trip was to make the first flight across the South Pole, which he did,...

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Often when I am going through the collection at the Virginia Aviation Museum I sometimes feel as though I’m on a treasure hunt. Just the other week I opened a box to find World War II memorabilia from one man who was stationed in New Guinea. The box was complete with a hunting knife with...

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

If someone had asked me a year ago to describe a "blood chit" or a "short snorter bill", I'm pretty sure that I would have only been able to blink in response. But since I began my position as curator at the Virginia Aviation Museum (a division of the Science Museum of...